help! avi / sonar problem!

[Markus S]

Can anybody help me please? The avi-files I am playing in sonar xl 2.2 are stuttering, slowering down accelerationg all the time. Anybody knows this problem? Any solutions to this?
Please help!

[Markus S]

Nobody else using sonar xl knowing this problem? images/icons/confused.gif

[Bill]

The best place for Sonar help is at news.cakewalk.com. That\'s the most active new group I\'ve ever seen.

[Markus S]

Hi Bill!
Thanks a lot, I just posted to them... this is so embaressing... Anybody working on filmmusic could tell me if the video application works fine for him?
Markus.

[damoy]

I use Sonar and have not had any problems with the avi import (and I\'ve used it quite a bit). Not much help here, but at least is gives you a little more info.

Just curious, is everything else on the system normal when you are trying to play the avi (HD, CPU, Mem util)?

[Markus S]

Hi Demoy!
Thanks for the input - tells me at least that it *can* work images/icons/wink.gif . Everything is fine meromry, cpu. I found a primitive way to \"solve\" the problem: when I apply on \"flesh to the left\" - it works images/icons/grin.gif . Ok, then I have to record the midi with my left hand and press the \"left\"-key with the right... uh oh, I really hope there\'s a solution to this images/icons/rolleyes.gif ...
Any idea is more than wellcome...

[Markus S]

YUPPEEE!!!! I\'M FINE! And that\'s another day lost for software issues - but that\'s worth it!
So what was wrong? What was it???
Well, I had the winamp player by default. And it was it that didn\'t play the files properly... Sure, noone of you could find this... and I installed the latest win media player and swupps - it works. Video-files are opened now by default by it and so sonar uses it as well... I finallt can sleep peaceful...

[SteveHanlon]

Markus, I\'ve been loading CineNet .avi files (the ones that come with the Deluxe version) into Cakewalk 9. I mostly don\'t have problems. But occasionally I get the stuttering probelm and if I re-boot it goes away.

BTW, Cakewalk can also load in mpeg and Quicktime, but I had terrible sync problems with those. Have you tried these types of files at all?


And side note, after I compose in cakewalk to the video, I export only the .wav then put the music and vido together in Video Factory (Vegas little brother program) which exports AV a lot better than Cakewalk (with also more export file options like .avi, mpeg1 or 2, wmv, quicktime).

[Markus S]

Hi Marty
thanks for the tip (btw, how\'s the bassoonosaurus doing?)... my problem rests, nothings solved images/icons/mad.gif . Ii just worked one time normally (stange enough images/icons/confused.gif ). The format I would like to use is avi... I tried everything... change keyframes, tweak settings, follow instructions on the help files... it doesn\'t work... Could it be this is my system? Before I used Cubase vst and I never hab problems to play video-files.
Marty, can you tell me how to change formats? Is it possible with virtual dub? Maybe this helps?
Markus.

[Haydn]

What are you using as your clock source?

[SteveHanlon]

Markus, do you have Sonar Deluxe version? The deluxe version has a second CD of media and free samples, etc.

If so, load one of the .avi files from that CD. I have found that those .avi files play fine 9 out of 10 times. I have found from time to time when I make .avi files or mpeg files using the Video factory, it doesn\'t always play so smoothly in Cakewalk.

I believe that Sonar didn\'t offer upgrades in terms of video from Cakewalk 9.

To change the format of your file, I have heard of video file format converters. But I don\'t have one and have never used one. Check freeware or shareware sites to see if you can try one out.

But again, my one time of loading a quicktime was terrible in cakewalk...so unsync\'ed...impossible to compose.

But using the avi from CineNet that came on the 2nd CD of the Deluxe version have been fine and I\'ve been able to practice composing to video and was able to finish 5-6 small videos with music without much problem.

[lex]

Sounds strange....

I would try to encode the AVI with diferent codec..

Sonar doesnt like overcompressed videos like DivX...

I ussualy convert them to Cinepack, and then it works nice...

Alex

[Markus S]

Hi Marty, Alex and Haydn,
thank you so much for trying to help - I appreciate it very much!!! images/icons/smile.gif

Haydn,
I tried different clock sources (all the four), but it didn\'t change anything. On what should it stand? Audio?

Marty,I don\'t have the deluxe version. It is xl version. Maybe you could send me by email a very short extract of a video so that I could try if it\'s a format-issue\". Here\'s my email (I have dsl):
markus.schmidt@wanadoo.fr
Thanks in advance!

Alex,
I think you gave a very good tip, at least it\'s the same as the one I just got from Andy (tech support). I am trying it out right now and hoping very much it works...

[Markus S]

Well no... changing format doesn\'t help... too bad... Any other ideas are greatly appreciated...

[lex]

do all your video files act this way?

and you shouldn\'t change the format, keep it in AVI just recompress it to cinepack, and put a keyframe number high, at least every 5th frame..

Alex

[Markus S]

Hi Lex,
yes all files, even a file Marty sent me and that is playing on his sonar. I also tried your suggestion but still this \"stuttering\". I really don\'t know what to do. Do you use the video application of sonar without problems? What OS are you using? Maybe it\'s my system that is too weak? I\'m using WIN98SE, but it\'s too strange it worked in Cubase...
Thank you for trying to help,
Markus.

[lex]

yes I work with video in sonar all the time and I don\'t have the problems you are decribing...

What graphic card do you have, and whats your system spec..

Stuttering sounds like a weak graph board, or weak comp problem?

OS XP...AMD 2ghz , 1Gig ram..

Cubase handels video much much better, especialy SX...

Last version of Sonar, 2.2 I think, improved video handling and ironed some video bugs..

Alex

[Markus S]

Hi Alex,
hm... I don\'t have any audio problems, but I see your configuration is a lot more powerful than mine, so it\'s probably my system. I was just irritated, because in Cubase it worked fine. But if you say Cubase handels better video files, this explaines it. My video card is ati xpert 98 pro 8mo agp. never had any problems with it. I\'ll be getting a new system soon, so I hope this will solve the problem. And if nothing else helps, I have to get Cubase again... nice try to get away from it.... One more question: are you runninggiga and sonar on one machine?
Thanks,
Markus.

[lex]

yes I run them on one machine...

try getting a graph board with more RAM, update the graph board drivers...

update all video codecs for windows...

Alex

[lex]

And altough Cubase handels video better, thats refering to some other video issues..

What you have is not normal and sonar should not work like that..

If updating codecs doesnt work...borow a G-Force from someone and see if thats a problem..

Alex

[Markus S]

Hi Alex,
thanks once more for taking the time images/icons/smile.gif . Where can I upgrade the codecs... there\'s so much stuff about it on the web that I don\'t know what to download (but I just downloaded the last win media player - are the codecs included?).
My computer don\'t take any more ram (if graph board means more ram?), I\'m stuck. And what is a G-Force? Sorry, I not yet familiar to all this informatic vocabulary.
You would do me a favour as well if you could have a look at a configuration a shop offers me, it\'s in the hardware section. Would Cakewalk work with this?
Markus.

[Markus S]

ok, graph card is some video hardware, is that right? Could it help?
And G-force are visualisations of music? How could this help? images/icons/confused.gif images/icons/confused.gif images/icons/confused.gif

[Markus S]

I just installed some software (gspot) that says that I have all the codecs to read my video file and that there \"should\" be no problem... hm...

[lex]

Ok so you have all the codecs...

G-Force is the popular model of video graphic card...

Mine has 64Mb of ram..

So what I\'m suggesting is that you find somebody who has a good video card, it\'s a gamers hardware in a way so you must find someone..and test if thats the problem..

Alex

[lex]

what CPU and how much RAM do you have?

[Markus S]

Well on the desk it tells 192.0 of ram... seems a bit small... is it possible this is all I have???... good that I buy a new system soon... at the beginning there was 64mo sd ram and later I got 128mo sdram, so it\'s about 182mb ram... well I suppose this is very small. Do you think this could be the problem?
Markus.

[Markus S]

oh, it\'s late images/icons/rolleyes.gif ... makes 192.0 mo of ram and not 182.. so that\'s it... that\'s not enough I suppose?...

[lex]

umm...yes...

192MB of ram is very very small...

if your video is big resolution I\'m surprised you can play it at all..

I guess your CPU is not very fast either..

Alex

[Markus S]

images/icons/grin.gif Well, yes I suppose I should glad I can open it at all...
How can I know the cpu speed?

[lex]

god damn...is it your computer..hehehe

My advice is that you have to know at least what are you working on....

And if you look at the recomended Sonar specs

Operating System 2000/XP
Processor Speed 1.2 GHz
RAM 256 MB
Hard disk type EIDE/Ultra DMA (7200 RPM) or SCSI Hard Drive
Graphics (resolution; color depth) 1024 x 768; 24-bit color
Sound Card(4) WDM compatible

You can see what is the problem..

Alex

[Markus S]

Thanks images/icons/wink.gif